According to current information, eight people were fatally injured when shots were fired in a Jehovah’s Witnesses building on Thursday evening in Hamburg. At a press conference from 12 p.m. onwards, the police will provide information about new findings on the case. The most important questions and answers about the act of violence at a glance:
What is known about the course of action?
Shortly before 9 p.m., several shots were fired in a Jehovah’s Witnesses building during an event. The video of a local resident shows that a person dressed in black shoots through a broken window into the building from the outside and finally gets into the house and continues to shoot inside.
According to the police, eight people die in total, including the perpetrator himself. Several other people are seriously injured.
The building is located on a busy street on the border between the Alsterdorf and Groß Borstel districts of Hamburg. Numerous callers informed the police around 9:15 p.m.
How did the police react?
The new special unit of the Hamburg police USE was “very, very close by chance and therefore on site very quickly,” said a spokesman for the TV station n-tv. USE stands for “Emergency Support Patrol”. The unit is part of the state riot police. After the emergency services arrived, they heard another shot on an upper floor of the building and found a lifeless person who could be the perpetrator. That’s not confirmed yet.
What is known about the perpetrator?
On Friday night, the police assumed it was a single perpetrator. According to information from the dpa from security circles, the Hamburg police classified the shots as an amok act. He had not previously been known as an extremist. Nevertheless, his name appeared in the databases of the security authorities because he had applied for a gun license. This always requires a reliability check, in which references to criminal offenses and extremism are checked.
What happened on Friday morning?
In the early morning, the police secured additional tracks in front of, behind and in the three-story building. During the night, the investigators put up numerous small number boards on the outside of the building to mark traces of the act of violence. A 3D scanner was also used in the morning to document the course of the crime. The entrance to the Jehovah’s Witnesses building was covered with a privacy screen in the morning. A hearse drove up to the scene around 8 a.m. Traffic on the busy Deelböge road was released again around six o’clock.
At an event of Jehovah’s Witnesses on Thursday evening in Hamburg, shots were suddenly fired. Several people died or were injured. The police are investigating.
(Photo: Steven Hutchings/dpa)
What is still unclear?
The Mirror reported that the suspect is believed to be a former member of Jehovah’s Witnesses aged between 30 and 40. The magazine also reported that the murder weapon was a pistol and that the perpetrator is said to have left a large bag behind. However, the police did not provide any information on Friday morning – neither about the alleged perpetrator nor about the exact course of events. The police have not yet commented on the victims in detail. The police have announced a press conference for this Friday, at which more information could be given. You can see the PK here from 12 noon in the live stream.
Is there a contact point for those affected?
The police have pointed out a telephone for relatives and those affected. The contact point can be reached under the numbers +49 40 4286-24393, -24386 and -24323. These numbers should not be used for hints. The police have one for that reference portal furnished. Photos and videos of the crime or relevant events in this context can be uploaded there.